Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-s2hrs Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-13T00:41:21.635Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Infection Control Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices among Healthcare Workers at Mulago Hospital, Kampala, Uganda

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2015

Ajay K. Sethi ,
Charles W. Acher ,
Bruce Kirenga ,
Scott Mead ,
Curtis J. Donskey  and
Achilles Katamba
Ajay K. Sethi*
Affiliation:
Department of Population Health Sciences, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, Wisconsin
Charles W. Acher
Affiliation:
University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, Wisconsin
Bruce Kirenga
Affiliation:
Department of Medicine, Makerere University School of Medicine, Kampala, Uganda
Scott Mead
Affiliation:
Department of Medicine, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, Wisconsin
Curtis J. Donskey
Affiliation:
Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio
Achilles Katamba*
Affiliation:
Department of Medicine, Makerere University School of Medicine, Kampala, Uganda
*
Department of Population Health Sciences, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, 610 Walnut Street, 601 WARF, Madison, WI 53726 (aksethi@wisc.edu)
Makerere University School of Medicine, P.O. Box 21696, Kampala, Uganda (akatamba@yahoo.com)
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Objective.

Effective implementation of infection control programs and adherence to standard precautions are challenging in resource-limited settings. The objective of this study was to describe infection control knowledge, attitudes, and practices among healthcare workers (HCWs) in Uganda.

Design.

We conducted a survey of hospital employees who had direct contact with patients or their immediate environment. We also performed an environmental assessment of resource availability and utilization within hospital wards.

Setting.

Surgical, medicine, and obstetrics wards at a national referral hospital in Kampala, Uganda.

Participants.

One hundred eighty-three randomly selected HCWs.

Results.

Almost all HCWs knew to wash their hands, although nursing and support staff were less likely to perceive that HCWs' hands can be a vector of disease transmission. Hand washing was valued more as a means of self-protection than as a means to prevent patient-to-patient transmission, consistent with the prevailing belief that infection control was important for occupational safety. Sinks were not readily accessible, and soap at sinks was uncommon throughout the medicine and obstetrics wards but more commonly available in the surgery wards. Alcohol gel was rarely available.

Conclusions.

Changing infection control practices in developing countries will require a multifaceted approach that addresses resource availability, occupational safety, and local understanding and attitudes about infection control.

Type
Original Article
Information
Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology , Volume 33 , Issue 9 , September 2012 , pp. 917 - 923
Copyright
Copyright © The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America 2012 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

1. World Health Organization (WHO). WHO guidelines on hand hygiene in health care: first global patient safety challenge—clean care is safer care. In: Clean Care Is Safer Care. Geneva: World Health Organization, 2009:1–270.Google Scholar
2. Huskins, WC, O'Rourke, EJ, Rhinehart, E, Goldman, DA. Infection control in countries with limited resources. In: Mayhall, CG, ed. Hospital Epidemiology and Infection Control. Philadelphia: Lippincott, Williams, & Wilkins, 2004:1889–1917.Google Scholar
3. Hambraeus, A. Lowbury lecture 2005: infection control from a global perspective. J Hosp Infect 2006;64:217–223.10.1016/j.jhin.2006.07.003Google Scholar
4. Bagheri Nejad, S, Allegranzi, B, Syed, SB, Ellis, B, Pittet, D. Healthcare-associated infection in Africa: a systematic review. Bull World Health Organ 2011;89:757–765.Google Scholar
5. Allegranzi, B, Pittet, D. Healthcare-associated infection in developing countries: simple solutions to meet complex challenges. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2007;28(12):1323–1327.10.1086/521656Google Scholar
6. Nakanjako, D, Kyabayinze, DJ, Mayanja-Kizza, H, Katabira, E, Kamya, MR. Eligibility for HIV/AIDS treatment among adults in a medical emergency setting at an urban hospital in Uganda. Afr Health Sci 2007;7(3):124–128.Google Scholar
7. Jamtvedt, G, Young, JM, Kristoffersen, DT, O'Brien, MA, Oxman, AD. Audit and feedback: effects on professional practice and health care outcomes. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2006; (2): CD000259.Google Scholar
8. Gould, DJ, Moralejo, D, Drey, N, Chudleigh, JH. Interventions to improve hand hygiene compliance in patient care. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2010; (9):CD005186.Google Scholar
9. Raka, L. Lowbury lecture 2008: infection control and limited resources—searching for the best solutions. J Hosp Infect 2009;72:292–298.Google Scholar
10. Rosenthal, VD, Bijie, H, Maki, DG, et al; INICC members. International Nosocomial Infection Control Consortium (INICC) report, data summary of 36 countries, for 2004-2009. Am J Infect Control 2012;40(5):396–407.Google Scholar
11. Rosenthal, VD, Maki, DG, Graves, N. The International Nosocomial Infection Control Consortium (INICC): goals and objectives, description of surveillance methods, and operational activities. Am J Infect Control 2008;36:e1–e12.10.1016/j.ajic.2008.06.003Google Scholar
12. Hugonnet, S, Perneger, TV, Pittet, D. Alcohol-based handrub improves compliance with hand hygiene in intensive care units. Arch Intern Med 2002;162(9):1037–1043.Google Scholar
13. WHO. Guide to local production: WHO-recommended hand-rub formulations. In: Clean Care Is Safer Care. Geneva: World Health Organization, 2009.Google Scholar
14. South-East Asia Regional Office (SEARO). Practical guidelines for infection control in health care facilities. In: SEARO Regional Publication. New Delhi: WHO Regional Office for South-East Asia and Regional Office for Western Pacific, 2004:1–110.Google Scholar